Brace.



PATENTED MAR. 3, 1903.

s. CLAWSON.

BEACH.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 16, 1902 N0 MODEL.

A-TTO UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SPENCER OLAWSON, OF SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH.

BRACE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 721,861, dated. March 3, 1903.

Application filed April 16, 1902. fierial No. 103,158. (No modelfi To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I; SPENCER CLAWSON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Salt Lake City, in the county of Salt Lake and State of Utah, have invented a new and Improved Brace, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of this invention is to facilitate the boring of floor-joists in buildings for the reception of electrical wires and the like.

In wiring a building after the joists and floor are in place the joists are bored through, so that the wire may be passed through the joists and hidden by the casing when the same is subsequently put in position. Owing to the close juxtaposition of the joists it is difficult, if not impossible, to get an ordinary brace and bit or other tool into working position. Therefore to overcome this disadvantage my invention consists in an improved extensible brace, which will hold itself between the joists, and with or without the help of a pawl-and-ratchet attachment the brace may be operated to drive the bit through the joist.

This specification is an exact description of one example of my invention, while the claims define the actual scope thereof.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming apart of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a view showing the brace in' use. Fig. 2 is an enlarged side view of the brace. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the extensible part of the brace; and Figs. 4 and 5 are sections, respectively, on the lines 44 and 5 5 of Fig. 3.

a and 1) indicate, respectively, the arms of the brace, the arm a carrying at its end the shoulder-knob a, and the arm I) carrying the chuck I) (here shown as a rat-chetchuck) for the bit 0.

The two arms of the brace are connected by the extensible middle part, which may be described as follows: The inner end of the arm a has an enlargementa in which is formed an annular groove a This groove carries loosely a split ring 01, itself fastened to a sleeve 61 by means of screws or other devices d*. This mounts the sleeve (1 to turn freely on the arm. Integral with or fastened securely to the inner end of the arm I) is a tubee, which slides snugly within the tube (1 and carries at its outer end a stud e, capable of being locked with the walls of a bayonet-slot d in the inner end of the sleeve (1. By these means the tool maybe held contracted, with all of its parts rigid, thus facilitating its use in the ordinary manner. The enlargement o carries rigidly within the sleeve 01 a tube f, which is slotted longitudinally on each side, as indicated atf, but the inner end of which terminates in transverse stops f and in these slots f move the ends of a cross-head g, carried on the inner end of a rod 9, fastened to the arm I) and extending cent-rally through the tube e.

h indicates a stout expansive spring,which lies in the parts (1 and e and over the parts f and g, and which presses firmly against the enlargement a and arm I).

To the shoulder-knob a is fitted a serrated band 7;, in which is formed one or more U- slots 11', and in these slots lie pins or screws 0. fast to the knob a. By turning the band i on the knob the band may be moved to and held at the position shown in Fig. 2 or that shown in Fig. 1. In the former position the band is inactive and does not'interfere with the operationof the tool in the ordinary way; but in the latter position the band projects its serrated edge outward and may be firmly engaged with the joist.

In the ordinary construction of buildings the floor-joists are first put in and then the floor is put over the joists. When this is done, it is necessary to bore the joists for wiring the building, and at this period my tool becomes useful. The serrated band 'i, as shown best in-Fig. 2, is moved from the inactive position shown in said view to the active positionshown in Fig. 1, and the bayonet-slot d is released from the pin 6. The spring h is then allowed to exert its pressure, thus pushing the bit 0 against the joist and holding the band i firmly engaged with the opposite joist, so that a workman may grasp the sleeve 01 and turn the same freely around the parts a and 6, so as to operate the bit 0 and bore through the joist. In the ordinary use of the tool the band 1) is moved backward out of the position shown in Fig. 2; but when it is to be used for boring joists for electric connections the band is moved from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that shown in Fig. l, and then the serrated teeth of the band will engage the joist and a workman by operating the arms a and b may drive the bit 0 through the joist with which it is engaged.

Various changes in the form and details of my invention may be resorted to at will without departing from the spirit of myinvention. Hence 1 consider myself entitled to all forms of the invention as may lie within the intent of my claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A carpenters brace, provided with a shoulder-knob, and a serrated annulus inclosing said knob and capable of being projected beyond the knob, or moved inward from the face thereof, for the purpose specified, and means for holding the annulus in either of said positions.

2. A carpenters brace comprising two sections, a split tube on one section, a rod on the other section, said rod having a crosshead running in the tube, and a spring pressing said sections apart.

3. A carpenters brace comprising two sec tions, a split tube on one section, a rod on the other section, said rod having a cross-head running in the tube, a spring pressing said sections apart, and means for holding the sections moved together against the action of the spring.

4. A carpenters brace comprising two sections, a split tube on one section, a rod on the other section, said rod having a cross-head running in the tube, a spring pressing said sections apart, and telescopic tubes respectively carried by the sections and inclosing the split tube, rod and'spring.

5. A carpenters brace comprising two sections, a split tube on one section, a rod on the other section,said rod having a cross-head running in the tube, a spring pressing said sections apart, telescopic tubes respectively carried by the sections and inclosing the split tube, rod and spring, and means for holding the sections moved together against the action of the spring.

6. A carpenters brace, comprising an extensible middle part, a spring bearing between the sections thereof, for the purpose specified, two arms projected laterally from the ends of said middle part, means on one arm for carrying a tool, and a member mounted to turn on the other arm, for the purpose specified.

7. A carpenters brace, comprising an extensible middle part, an arm projected laterally from each end thereof, means on one arm for carrying a tool, and a member mounted to turn on the other arm, for the purpose specified.

8. A carpenters brace, comprising an extensible middle part, an arm projected laterally from each end thereof, means on one arm for carrying a tool, and a member mounted to turn on the other arm, for the purpose specified, the said means for carrying the tool comprising a ratchet-and-pawl device to permit driving the tool by a swinging movement of the brace.

9. A carpenters brace, comprising an extensible middle part, a spring hearing between the sections thereof, for the purpose specified, two arms projected laterally from the ends of said middle part, means on one arm for carrying a tool, and a member mounted to turn on the other arm, for the purpose specified, the said means for carrying a tool comprising a pawl and ratchet to permit driving the tool by a swinging movement of the brace.

10. A carpenters brace, comprising a middle part formed of two slidably-connected sections, a spring pressing said sections apart, telescopic tubes inclosing the spring and connected respectively with said sections, laterally-disposed arms projecting from said sections of the middle part of the brace, means on one arm for holding a tool, and a member mounted to turn on the other arm, for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

SPENCER CLAWSON.

Witnesses:

ISAAC B. OWENS, JNo. M. BITTER. 

